At least two witnesses told Reuters they saw dozens of Eritrean troops in two trucks on Wednesday, identifying them by their off-white camouflage uniforms. A third resident, who was not in town, said family members had also reported seeing Eritrean soldiers. Reuters said it could not independently verify the accounts.
Gebreigziabher Beyene, commander of the pro-government Tigray Peace Force, said the Eritrean army had entered Tigray with heavy weaponry and that its forces were being struck by drones. He accused Eritrea of deliberately deploying troops so that fighting takes place inside Tigray rather than spilling into Eritrea.
Eritrea's Information Minister, Yemane Meskel, did not deny that troops had crossed the border. In a statement on X, he said Ethiopia's government was creating "a fallacious narrative of 'self-defense' to rationalise and camouflage its war of aggression".
The sightings would mark the first time Eritrean forces have been seen inside Ethiopia since the renewal of fighting on September 23 between Ethiopian forces and a seven-group armed alliance that includes the TPLF. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, as well as Egypt and Sudan, of backing the alliance, a claim all three deny.
Eritrea severed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia on October 1 after Addis Ababa closed its embassy in Asmara and expelled Eritrean diplomats. Ethiopian forces captured the Tigray regional capital Mekelle on October 4, with the TPLF saying it had withdrawn to avoid civilian casualties.